As we inch closer to the end of summer (already?), millions of Americans are still eagerly awaiting news on the next batch of tax refunds related to 2020 unemployment compensation. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has said these payment would continue “through the summer,” but it has not offered a more specific timeline, nor has it provided an update since July.
According to previous IRS announcements, payments for the last two batches began on a Wednesday, and they were spaced two weeks apart, with the first recipients seeing direct deposit payment dates of July 14 and July 28, respectively. This Wednesday, August 11, will mark two weeks since the last round. However, the IRS has not yet announced a date for August payments.
Reached for comment, an IRS spokesperson had no immediate on the timeline but said she would get back to us soon.
The refunds, which were first announced in March, are the result of changes authorized by the American Rescue Plan Act, which excluded up to $10,200 in taxable income for people who collected unemployment in 2020. Because the changes didn’t take effect until March 11, many taxpayers who filed taxes before that date overpaid.
The IRS has said it is feverishly working to correct affected tax returns—starting with the simplest first—and that most taxpayers don’t need to file an amended return. It has said it identified 13 million taxpayers whose returns may need the adjustment. Since May, the agency said, it has issued some 8.7 million refunds related to unemployment, to the tune of over $10 billion.
If you are eligible to receive one of these payments, keep in mind that the size of your check will not be $10,200, as some outlets have incorrectly reported. That figure is the amount excluded from taxable income calculations. In its most recent update, the IRS said the average refund amount was $1,686, which is still nothing to sneeze at!
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